2018 State Arm Bowlers Championships

by admin on May 2, 2018

The inaugural State Arm Bowlers Championships saw plenty of great bowls action over the five days of competition. (Pictured left: Maroon Arm Bowlers Association president Cheryl Hutchinson with pairs gold medallists Geoff Geary and Terry McFadden.)

Singles:

The sectional rounds were hard fought with games going right down to the wire, after three rounds of play only 15 section winners remained, the post sectional rounds reduced the number of players left to just eight with Roger Goodridge sitting the round out on a BYE.

In the quarter-finals Terry McFadden removed Roger Goodridge 21-13, Peter Tappenden dispatched John Thompson 21-12, Brian Pownell won 21-10 against Alan Eversham and the last female player Heather Hodgson beat Alf Huter 21-19.

The semi-final proved to be fruitful for South Tweed’s Terry McFadden who beat Mount Larcom’s Peter Tappenden 25-16, while Paradise Point’s Heather Hodgson secured her spot in the final with a 25-20 win on over Burnett’s Brian Pownell.

The final saw McFadden open up an early lead and maintain a strong margin while Hodgson worked to close the gap, McFadden proved to be too relentless in his pursuit of victory and secured his gold medal with a 25-14 win.

Match coordinator Ron Somerville said it was great to see a woman in the final and praised Hodgson’s play throughout the competition as she had been in fine form throughout.

In the play-off for bronze Peter Tappenden took control of the game from start, by end 11 Tappenden had 16 shots to his name while his opponent Brian Pownell held three, Pownell refused to go down without a fight and claimed seven shots over the next five ends.

Despite Pownell’s best efforts Tappenden’s six-shot advantage kept him ahead of the game and afforded him the breathing room he needed to chase down the last nine shots to bring the game to 25-17 and secure Tappenden’s bronze medal.

Pairs:

After a tough battle in the pairs sectional rounds, the seven triumphant section winners were Graeme Tickle & Leigh Hewish, Heather Hodgson & Ralph Hunt, Ron Schofield & Roger Goodridge, John McGahan & Peter Tappenden, Brian Smart & Terry Lee, Cheryl Hutchinson & Jim Merrick and Terry McFadden & Geoffrey Geary.

The quarter-finals removed three finalists from the competition with Goodridge’s rink defeating Leigh Hewish & Co 22-13, while John McGahan and Peter Tappenden edged over the line with a 19-17 win over Brian Smart and Terry Lee.

Meanwhile, skip Geoffrey Geary and teammate Terry McFadden were ruthless in their hunt for a spot in the semi-final eliminating Cheryl Hutchinson & Jim Merrick from the competition with a 24-12 win.

The semi-final clash saw Scholfield & Goodridge secure their grand-final berth with a 22-13 win over Graeme Tickle & Leigh Hewish (who had a BYE in the quarter-final), McFadden and Geary found themselves in a tougher battle for the final but were eventually able to overcome John McGahan and Peter Tappenden 26-12.

The final proved to be a tight game both teams struggled to stay ahead of their competition in the early stages of the game, however, skip Geoffrey Geary and Terry McFadden just managed to edge ahead of Roger Goodridge & Ron Schofield (Sk) in the last four ends to finish 24-20 in the gold medal bout.

In the bronze final skip Leigh Hewish and teammate Graeme Tickle were the dominant force from the start, John McGahan and skip Peter Tappenden collected some good multiples and closed the gap to just a one-shot margin.

Despite closing the gap they were unable to ascertain the lead which allowed Hewish and Tickle to stay in the lead throughout the final to finish as the bronze medallists with a 24-18 victory.

To view the full draw and results click here.